Exodus and Torah as one redemption

וכתיב שער החצר הפנימית כו' ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור.

It is written: "The gate of the inner courtyard… during the six days of work shall be shut" (Yechezkel 46:1).

The novi describes a gate of the inner court of the Bais Hamikdash that remains closed throughout the six working days. The Sefas Emes takes this as a symbol of how the inner dimension of holiness is concealed during the weekdays.

ולכן נברא העולם בב' שהוא סתום מג' רוחות לרמוז כי הי' הבריאה בהתלבשות הטבע.

Therefore the world was created with the letter bais, which is closed on three sides, to hint that the creation came about clothed within nature.

The Torah begins with the letter bais (ב), whose shape is sealed on three sides and open on only one. This alludes to the fact that Hashem created the world "dressed" in the garment of nature, with His presence hidden behind the natural order.

וביום החודש יפתח רומז לפתח דיציאת מצרים.

"And on the day of the new moon it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1) — this alludes to the opening of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The same prophecy says the gate opens on Rosh Chodesh. This points to the redemption from Mitzrayim, which began with the mitzvah of the new month — the first opening of the sealed gate.

שהתחיל בהחודש הזה לכם.

For it began with "This month shall be for you" (Shemos 12:2).

The redemption was inaugurated by the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon — "HaChodesh hazeh lachem" — the very first command given to Bnei Yisrael as a nation.

והוא פתיחת שער בנפשות בנ"י.

And this is the opening of the gate within the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael.

The "opening of the gate" is not only an external event but an inner one: at Yetzias Mitzrayim the concealed inner point within the souls of Bnei Yisrael was unlocked.

אח"כ ביום הביכורים הוא בחי' יום השבת יפתח יום מתן תורה.

Afterward, on the day of Bikkurim — which is the aspect of Shabbos — the day of Matan Torah opens.

Shavuos, the "day of the first fruits," carries the aspect of Shabbos: a day of complete openness. On it the gate opens fully with the giving of the Torah.

ויצ"מ ומתן תורה הכל אחד כמ"ש בהוציאך כו' תעבדון.

And Yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah are all one, as it is written: "When you bring the people out… you shall serve God" (Shemos 3:12).

The Exodus and the giving of the Torah are a single continuous process. Hashem told Moshe that the goal of taking the people out of Mitzrayim was that they would serve Him at Sinai — the redemption and the Torah are two stages of one act.

וכ' אנכי כו' אשר הוצאתיך לומר כי שורש הגאולה הי' בכח התורה וכשניתנה תורה לישראל נגמר החירות שניתן להם שורש החירות וסוד הגאולה.

And it is written "Anochi… who took you out" — to teach that the root of the redemption lay in the power of Torah; and when the Torah was given to Yisrael the freedom was completed, for they were given the root of freedom and the secret of the geulah.

The Aseres HaDibros open by joining "I am Hashem" with "who took you out of Mitzrayim," showing that the Exodus drew its power from the Torah. The cheirus (freedom) that began at Pesach was only finished at Sinai, where the very root of freedom and the inner secret of redemption were implanted in Bnei Yisrael.

וזה שרמזו חז"ל אין לך בן חורין אלא העוסק בתורה שהגם שפסח זמן חירותנו אבל שורש החירות הוא בשבועות.

This is what Chazal hinted: "There is no free man except one who occupies himself with Torah" (Avos 6:2) — for although Pesach is the time of our freedom, the root of freedom is on Shavuos.

Pesach is called "zman cheiruseinu," the season of our liberty, but the source of that freedom is the Torah received on Shavuos. Real freedom is found only in Torah, which is why Chazal say only one engaged in Torah is truly free.

וע"ז נאמר וידעתם כי אני ה' כו' המוציא אתכם כו' ודרשו חז"ל עבידנא לכו מילתא דתידעון דאנא אפיקת יתכון ע"ש.

About this it is said, "And you shall know that I am Hashem… who brings you out" (Shemos 6:7), and Chazal expounded: "I will do for you a thing through which you will know that I took you out."

Hashem promised that the redeemed people would come to truly know Him. Chazal explain that Hashem would give them something — the Torah — through which they would recognize that He was the One who took them out of Mitzrayim.

והוא התורה.

And that "thing" is the Torah.

The vehicle through which Bnei Yisrael came to fully know Hashem and recognize the redemption was the giving of the Torah.

וזה ג"כ הרמז עומר מתיר במדינה גאולה שלמטה, ושתי הלחם במקדש שורש הגאולה:

This too is the hint: the Omer offering permits the new grain throughout the land — this is the lower redemption; and the Shtei HaLechem (two loaves) in the Bais Hamikdash — this is the root of the redemption.

The Omer brought at Pesach permits the new harvest in the country at large, representing the outward, lower-level redemption of the Exodus. The Shtei HaLechem brought on Shavuos in the Mikdash represents the inner root of redemption — the Torah — which only takes effect in the holiest place. Together they mirror the two stages: liberation below and its true source above.

Summary: The closed gate of the inner court that opens only on Rosh Chodesh symbolizes how Hashem's presence, hidden within nature, is unlocked through redemption. Yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah are one process: Pesach is the season of freedom, but its very root lies in the Torah given on Shavuos. This is mirrored by the Omer, which permits the new grain in the land below (the lower geulah), and the Shtei HaLechem in the Mikdash, which represents the inner root of the redemption — the Torah itself.